Friday, November 26, 2010

Reflections on Sea Life Park

Everyone was impressed with the sea creatures at Sea Life Park.  View their watercolor masterpieces with writing and  listen to their feelings.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Holiday Card Exchange

Hi Parents,
Various classes teamed with 24 other classrooms around the world to exchange holiday greetings.  Cards could be sent either by mail or electronically.  This is a sample of  our card shared via email.
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Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Day at Sea Life Park

We had a bright, sunny day to enjoy the animals at Sea Life Park. Besides having fun, we learned many things about the sea lions, penguins,dolphins, and sea turtles.




Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Fun Times

We have watched some videos and viewed several books about the Solar System this week.  The most interesting fact we learned was Pluto was not a planet, but a dwarf planet. It orbits the sun just like other planets, but it is smaller. A dwarf planet is so small it cannot clear other objects out of its path.

For Free Write, we watercolored anything that was related to Thanksgiving. Cornucopias, turkeys, and Native American Indians  were some of the things we painted with our stories written below it.

Skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's, took our breath away.  Some of us had to jump up and down, move our arms in circles, jog in place, or tip toe in a circle while the rest of the class skip counted.  Those chosen to do these movements were exhausted. Those who counted had alot of practice.  But, we still need to work at skip counting!!!


A Thanksgiving Service will be held at the Temple on  Wednesday, November 24th. We need to dress nicely for this occasion.  All of us in the Kindergarten classes are asked to bring one (1) canned good  as an offering.   Mrs. Lee said we could bring the canned good in earlier than Wednesday just in case we forget.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Career Day

What will we be when we grow up?????? We had a chance to dress up in an outfit of our future career. It was fun, especially since we could use some of the same costumes that we wore from Halloween.

We  listened to two parents who spoke about their jobs.  Mr. Ogomori, Jaden's dad,  is an attorney. He explained that when people have a problem and can not solve it, they hire him to help them settle their disagreement. Another guest speaker was Billy V., the news and radio personality.  He said he had about
4-5 jobs and loved all of them.  The best part of his day, though, was waking  at 3:00a.m. everyday. I don't know if I would want to get up that early to start my job!!!!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Voicethread

We had fun  making this voicethread for our friends in Massachusetts and our moms and dads. Mrs. Lee told us a voicethread is a tool for having a  conversation around digital media, like images, video, etc, and sharing it online. We think we'll be working on another voicethread soon.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Newspaper article about our Skype pals

Dear Parents,
Here is an online version of the story about our Skyping in the Daily Hampton Gazette. I am sure the children will be thrilled when they listen to this.

Kindergartners exchange ideas with Honolulu students
by Rebecca Everett

With help from technology and the efforts of two kindergarten teachers, 16 students in Gail Poulins kindergarten class at the William E. Norris Elementary School have the modern-day equivalent of pen-pals, even before they know how to write a letter.

Poulins class has been using a video-chat computer program called Skype to communicate with a class of kindergarten students at the Hongwanji Mission School in Honolulu, Hawaii.
I think theyre still in awe of it, Poulin said of the childrens reactions to the project. Students on both ends of the Skype sessions are asking and answering questions about the weather, what school is like and what life is like 5,000 miles away, Poulin said.
Theyre listening and absorbing a lot, Im impressed, she said. Yesterday we were making a list about our ideas about our Hawaiian friends, and almost every child contributed with what they know about where they live and what their lives are like.
The classes third Skype session was on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. which is 8:30 a.m. for the Hawaiian students. Poulin said that her students are starting to grasp the idea of different time zones, the different climate there and the different foods they eat.
They love that they can wear shorts and T-shirts all the time there, she said. Also, they talk about Spam because they like to eat Spam there almost everyday, so I know Ill have to let the kids try some soon.

Wendy Lee, the kindergarten teacher at the Hongwanji School, found Poulins name and contact information on a list of teachers who were interested in having Skype pen-pals and contacted her earlier this year. Lee said that the children in her class are awed by Southamptons autumn colors and snowy winters. They are gaining so much from this experience, which books can never replace, she said by email.

Poulin agreed that the experience is very valuable because the students are starting to get a bigger picture of the world outside Southampton. Anytime they can make a personal connection to something or to the world, it will help them down the road. Anytime someone mentions Hawaii, or that weather or even time differences, theyll have a stronger understanding of it because of their exposure to another part of the world, she said.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

K-1 Happy Talk

Hi Parents,
Thank you for submitting the Sea Life Park Parent Consent Form with payment.  The children will be thrilled to visit the Park  in about 2 weeks to observe the Penguin Habitat, the colony of California Sea Lions  waiting for herring handouts, the talented cast of bottlenose dolphins and sea lions at the Hawaiian Ocean Theater, and other amazing creatures which are part of the Park's Educational Program.

We are completing our Math chapter on  Number 10-30 and will begin Math Patterns.Some of the goals for this chapter include:
  Count orally to 100 using a number chart
  Skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s
  Recognize even and odd numbers
It would be helpful if you could find some time at home to practice with your child .

In Science, the focus will be on Earth and Space.  We'll discuss and learn facts about the planets, as well as complete a  floor puzzle with graphics showing the whole solar system.

K-1 Skyped with our Massachusetts buddies on Thursday.  Our students learned that many families in Massachusetts have their own swimming pool, have fun playing in the Autumn leaves, and running around outside for recess, despite the cold weather, is essential  for their physical fitness.

Reminders:
Wednesday, November 10: Career Day: Your child could come to school dressed in the the attire of the career s/he career chooses, i.e. policeman, fireman, nurse, dentist, etc.

Thursday, November 11: Veteran's Day: No School

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